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The Lick Lexicon
Common Parlance These words are in common use among all echelons of Kindred society. * Anarch: 1) A member of the Anarch Movement. 2) Any Kindred rebel who opposes the tyranny of elders. * Anarch Movement, The: The Sect within the Camarilla comprised of Anarchs who want to reform or overthrow the rule of the elders. * Barrens, The: The areas of a city unfit for life, including graveyards, abandoned buildings, industrial wastelands, and areas of irreversible urban blight. * Book of Nod, The: A collection of Kindred legend and history. * Beast, The: The inchoate drives and urges that threaten to turn a vampire into a mindless, ravening monster. * Blood: A vampire’s heritage; that which makes a vampire a vampire. Usage: I doubt her claims to such esteemed Blood. * blood bond: A mystical power over another individual engendered by partaking of a particular vampire’s blood thrice; accepting blood from a vampire is an acknowledgment of her mastery. * Caitiff: A vampire of unknown Clan and belongs to know sect. Typically, caitiff are abandoned by their sires, and in some cases may not even know what they are. Their ignorance of the traditions make them serious Masquerade threats. * Camarilla, The: A Sect of vampires devoted primarily to maintaining the Traditions, particularly that of the Masquerade. the childe is the progeny of her sire. This term is often used derogatorily, indicating inexperience. Plural childer. * Clan: A group of vampires who share common characteristics passed on by the blood. There are 13 known Clans, all of which were reputedly founded by members of the Third Generation. * coterie: A small group of Kindred, united by the need for support and sometimes common interests. In the Sabbat, coteries are called “packs.” * diablerie: The consumption of another Kindred’s blood, to the point of the victim’s Final Death. This is a capital crime in the Camarilla, and an accepted practice in the Sabbat. * domain: The area of a particular vampire’s influence. Princes claim entire cities as their domains, sometimes allowing lesser vampires to claim domain within. * elder: A vampire who has experienced at least two or more centuries of unlife. Elders are the most active participants in the Jyhad. * Elysium: A place where vampires may gather without fear of harm (although some Sects, such as the Sabbat, respect Elysium less than the Camarilla does). Elysium is commonly established in opera houses, theaters, museums, and other locations of culture. * Embrace, The: The act of transforming a mortal into a vampire. The Embrace requires the vampire to drain her victim and then replace that victim’s blood with a bit of her own. * Final Death, The: When a vampire ceases to exist, crossing the line from undeath into death. * fledgling: A newly created vampire, still under her sire’s protection. * Gehenna: The rumored Armageddon when the Antediluvians will rise from their torpor and devour the race of vampires and the world. * Generation: The number of “steps” between a vampire and the mythical Caine; how far descended from the First Vampire a given vampire is. * ghoul: A minion created by giving a bit of vampiric vitae to a mortal without draining her of blood first (which would create a vampire instead). * haven: A vampire’s “home”; where she finds sanctuary from the sun. * Hunger, The: The urge to feed. For vampires, the Hunger replaces all other drives with its own powerful call. * Inconnu: A Sect of vampires who have removed themselves from Kindred concerns and, largely, the Jyhad. Many Methuselahs are rumored to exist among the Inconnu. * Jyhad, The: The secret, self-destructive war waged between all kindred. Elder vampires manipulate their lessers, using them as pawns in a terrible game whose rules defy comprehension. * Kindred: The race of vampires as a whole, or a single vampire. According to rumor, this term came about in the 15th or 16th century, after the Great Anarch Revolt. Sabbat vampires scorn the term, preferring the word “Cainite” instead. * Kiss, The: To drink blood, especially from a mortal. The Kiss causes feelings of ecstasy in those who receive it. * Lupine: A werewolf, the natural and mortal enemy of the vampire race. Plural Lupines. * Lush: A vampire who typically feeds from drugged or drunk mortals in order to experience their inebriation. * Life, The: A euphemism for mortal blood. Many Kindred regard this term as affected and effete. * Man, The: The mote of humanity that a vampire maintains; the spark of mortality that distinguishes him from the Beast. * Masquerade, The: The habit (or Tradition) of hiding the existence of vampires from humanity. Designed to protect vampires from destruction at the hands of mankind, the Masquerade was adopted after the Inquisition claimed many Kindred unlives. * Prince: A vampire who has claimed a given expanse of domain as her own, generally a city, and supports that claim against all others. The term can refer to a Kindred of either sex. In the Sabbat, this Cainite is called the “Archbishop,” and in Anarch cities she is called the “Baron.” * Sabbat, The: A Sect of vampires that rejects humanity, embracing their monstrous natures. The Sabbat is bestial and violent, preferring to lord over mortals rather than hide from them. * Sect: A group of vampires arguably united under a common philosophy. The three most widely known Sects currently populating the night are the Camarilla, the Sabbat, and the Anarch Movement. * sire: A vampire’s “parent”; the Kindred who created her. * vessel: A source of vitae for sustenance or pleasure, primarily mortal. Old Form The elders typically use these turns of phrase, which have existed since long before the modern nights. One is advised to use these words carefully — in some company, their use may be seen as humorously anachronistic, while in the company of Anarchs, for example, they may be misconstrued as elders’ propaganda. * Amaranth: The act of consuming another Kindred’s blood, q.v. diablerie. * ancilla: A “proven” vampire, between the elders and the neonates. Plural ancillae. * Antediluvian: A member of the dreaded Third Generation, one of the eldest Kindred in existence. * antitribu: An “anti-Clan,” or one who has turned her back on the Sect that her Clan has founded (usually by joining the Sabbat). Some antitribu have evolved into new bloodlines. * Autarkis: A Kindred who remains outside the larger vampire society of a given city and often refuses to acknowledge the claim of a Prince, Archbishop, or Baron. * Becoming, The: The moment one passes from being a fledgling into “full” vampire status as a neonate. In the Camarilla, one may not Become until her sire deems her ready and gains the Prince’s approval. * blood oath: See blood bond. * Cainite: A vampire; a member of the race of Caine. Primarily used by the Sabbat, with their belief in the Cain origin myth. * Canaille: The bovine masses of humanity, especially the uncultured and unsavory. The Canaille are viewed primarily as a source of sustenance. * Cauchemar: A vampire who feeds exclusively on sleeping victims. * consanguineous: Literally, “of the same blood,” generally denotes lineage. * Cunctator: A vampire who avoids killing when delivering the Kiss; one who takes so little blood as to avoid bringing about her prey’s death. * domitor: A ghoul’s master; one who feeds her blood and issues her commands. * Footpad: One who feeds from derelicts and other chaff of society. Footpads may not maintain permanent havens. * Gentry: A Kindred who preys at nightclubs, bars, and other establishments of the “red-light district.” * Golconda: A fabled state of vampiric transcendence; the true mastery of the Beast and balance of opposing urges and principles. Rumored to be similar to mortal nirvana, Golconda is greatly touted but rarely achieved. * Humanitas: The extent to which a Kindred still maintains her humanity. * kine: A term for mortals, largely contemptuous. The phrase “Kindred and kine” refers to the world at large; everything. * Leech: A human who drinks vampire blood, yet acknowledges no master. * Lextalionis: The code of the Kindred and the system for punishing transgression; the blood hunt. It suggests Hammurabian or Biblical justice — an eye for an eye, and punishment in keeping with the grievance. * lineage: A vampire’s bloodline; the Kindred’s sire, sire’s sire, etc. * Methuselah: A vampire who has existed for a millennium or more; an elder who no longer participates in Kindred society. Methuselahs are rumored to hail from the Fourth and Fifth Generations. * neonate: A young Kindred, recently Embraced. * Papillon: The red-light district; the area of town punctuated by drinking establishments, brothels, gambling houses, and other locales of ill repute. The prime hunting grounds of a city, where the disappearance of mortals goes hand in hand with the area’s general seediness. * progeny: All of a given vampire’s childer, collectively. * praxis: The right of Princes to govern; the Prince’s claim to domain. This term also refers to the Prince’s matters of policy and individual edicts and motions. * regnant: A Kindred who holds a blood bond over another. * retainer: A human who serves a vampiric master. This term is almost archaic, referring to a time when vampires kept vast entourages of mortal servants as part of their estates. * Siren: A vampire who seduces mortals in order to drink from them, and then only takes a small quantity of blood, so as to avoid killing them. * Suspire: The rumored epiphany experienced just prior to the attainment of Golconda. * Third Mortal, The: Caine, who was cast out and became the First Vampire. * thrall: A vampire under the effects of a blood bond, having drunk another Kindred’s blood thrice. * vitae: Blood. * whelp: A derogatory term for a young Kindred, originally used with exclusive reference to one’s own progeny. * Wight: Human; man; a mortal. * Witch-hunter: A mortal who searches out and destroys vampires. * Whig: A contemptuous term for a vampire who possesses an interest in mortal trends and fashions. Vulgar Argot These terms are slang, the modern equivalents of older turns of phrase which have fallen out of favor due to their association with the elder ranks. These words are associated with the younger Kindred, who seek to establish their own vampiric cultures. * Alleycat: A vampire who keeps no permanent haven, but sleeps in a different location each night. This term also refers to a vampire who feeds exclusively from the homeless, vagrants, and other elements of low society. * banking: The practice of “withdrawing” blood from blood banks and hospital reserves. This blood has little taste, though it will sustain a vampire, and elder Kindred eschew this base indulgence. A Kindred who engages in this practice is known as a Banker. * Black Hand: A mistaken misnomer for the Sabbat as a whole used by Camarilla vampires (the Black Hand is actually a faction within the Sabbat). * Blister: A vampire “Typhoid Mary” who contracts a mortal disease and spreads it to each vessel upon whom he feeds. * bloodline: 1) A vampire’s heritage (see lineage). 2) A pedigree of vampires similar to a Clan, but that cannot trace their creation back to one of the Third Generation. * blood doll: A mortal who freely gives her blood to a vampire. Most blood dolls gain a perverse satisfaction from the Kiss, and actively seek out vampires who will take their vitae. * Butterfly: One who mingles among the mortal highsociety element and feeds exclusively from the famous and wealthy. * Casanova: A vampire who seduces mortals to take their blood, but does not kill them. Casanovas typically erase the memory of their presence from their vessels’ minds (see Cauchemar). * Change, The: The moment an individual ceases to be a mortal and becomes one of the Kindred. * Damned, The: The race of Cainites; all vampires. * donor: A sarcastic term for a vessel, typically human. * Farmer: A term of mockery for vampires who refuse to feed on human blood, instead taking sustenance from animals. * fief: A sarcastic term for a vampire’s domain or claim thereof, most commonly used in reference to a Prince. * head: A Kindred who feeds upon those who have imbibed alcohol or drugs, so as to vicariously experience the same sensations. Those Kindred who prefer individual drugs have their “poison” prefixed to the term head (e.g., methhead, dopehead, smackhead). * juicebag: A contemptuous term for mortals, indicating that their sole use is for sustenance. Also “juice box.” * Lick: A vampire; one of the race of Kindred. * Rack, The: The hunting ground of choice, including bars, nightclubs, drug dens, whorehouses and other bacchanalian locales, where mortals go missing all the time (see Papillon). * Rake: A habitual visitor to the Rack, especially in the interests of feeding (see Gentry). * Sandman: A vampire who feeds only upon sleeping victims. * slumming: The practice of feeding from derelicts, the homeless, and other dregs of society; one who does this regularly is known as a Slummer. * Stalker: A mortal who hunts down and destroys Kindred (see Witch-hunter). * Tease: A term for a female Casanova. * Turf: 1) A modern affectation used in reference to a domain. 2) The area under a given gang’s influence. * Vegan: A term of contempt for one who drinks exclusively from animals (see Farmer).